UN Halts Return of Refugees to Afghanistan

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has suspended the return of refugees to Afghanistan’s central and northern regions because of deteriorating security as a result of rival warlords. The Feminist Majority, UN, other humanitarian aid organizations and the new Afghan government have issued repeated pleas to the US government to support expansion of UN peacekeeping troops into the outer regions of Afghanistan in order to combat this lack of security in the north and other regions of the country.

“There is also an upsurge in criminal activities, including robberies, rapes and murders in the region,” Yusuf Hassan, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees told the Associated Press. Refugees most affected will be those in need of UN help to return to homes in Faryab, Jozjan, Balkh and Samangan provinces, the Associated Press reported.

1/27/2016 Taiwan Elects First Woman President - In a landslide victory, the leader of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen won the country's presidential election, becoming the first woman in Taiwan's history to hold the position.
Emphasizing her party's commitment to maintaining Taiwan's independence from China, Tsai won over young voters eager to usher in a political changing of the guard following some 70 years of dominance by the pro-Chinese unification party, the Kuomintang (KMT), chaired by presidential opponent Eric Chu. . . .